Cranberry Goat Cheese Butternut Squash Toast

Looking for a perfect fall appetizer? Cranberry Goat Cheese and Butternut Squash Toast is perfect for fall parties, pre-holiday dinner snacks, or just as an appetizer before dinner. This butternut squash toast assembly combines all of the perfect fall flavors, with sweetness from cranberries and butternut squash met with the tanginess and softness of goat cheese spread on a toasted baguette.

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When I first shared this recipe in 2014, it was my first time at trying butternut squash. I had no idea what it tasted like and didn’t want to have a huge batch of it in soup or something similar and hate the taste. That is how this recipe for butternut squash toast was born.

Bruschetta, crostini, toast. Whatever name you want to give the perfect style of appetizer served on a slice of toasted bread is my favorite kind of appetizer. It’s also the perfect appetizer for parties or pre-holiday meals. Plus the addition of goat cheese makes this an all time favorite of mine (if you’ve been a reader for a while, you know I love goat cheese).

There’s something about the combination of all of these flavors that just sings for fall. The cranberries and butternut squash both have a sweetness that combines perfectly with the slightly tanginess of goat cheese. I actually find that it brings out some of the sweetness within the goat cheese itself. You could even add a drizzle of honey over the top of these butternut squash toast bites and it would probably just about melt in your mouth!

We even talked about having this butternut squash mixture on top of a bed of spinach for a fall salad. If we do, I’ll be sure to report back on how it is! The mixture itself is delicious, but if you’re a carb lover like me, you’ll definitely prefer it on a few sliced and toasted pieces of baguette.

A few things to remember with this appetizer recipe. You can actually buy pre-peeled and diced butternut squash in the produce section of some grocery stores. Preparing a butternut squash isn’t difficult but if you’re intimidated by the steps, it’s totally worth buying the prepacked version to give a try. But do not buy the frozen kind! It’s just too soft and cooked through for this recipe!

Secondly, goat cheese. You want to buy the kind that is spreadable, but it can be flavored if you’d like. I suppose crumbled goat cheese sprinkled in with the butternut squash would also work, but the goat cheese provides a nice “glue” to hold onto the butternut squash so that it doesn’t all fall off the bread when you pick it up. If you’re not into goat cheese (there are apparently some people out there – like my friend at The Speckled Palate) you can use cream cheese instead!

Cranberry Goat Cheese and Butternut Squash Crostini

Description

Looking for a perfect fall appetizer? Cranberry Goat Cheese and Butternut Squash Toast is perfect for fall parties, pre-holiday dinner snacks, or just as an appetizer before dinner. This butternut squash toast assembly combines all of the perfect fall flavors, with sweetness from cranberries and butternut squash met with the tanginess and softness of goat cheese spread on a toasted baguette.

Ingredients

1 baguette, cut in 1/4″ slices and toasted

1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed and diced

6 oz goat cheese at room temperature

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 tablespoon sage (dried or fresh roughly chopped)

1 tablespoon thyme (dried or fresh roughly chopped)

Instructions

Slice baguette and use a basting brush to spread olive oil on slices, toast at 350 degrees for 5 minutes or until golden on top

Blogsgiving = adorable. I love every item in this recipe and think it’s going to go on my Thanksgiving menu! The parentals still host, but I try to do my part and bring a few dishes as well. Great recipe, thanks!

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